Oil and Water
by KeedaxEmry
Summary: Roxas is fed up with all the love notes that are left in his locker. All the women he's turned down are becoming a nuisance-but then again, dating someone you're not interested in would be better than fearing for your life, right?
1. Love Notes and Harassment

A/N: I have always wanted to write a horror. =3

Hmm, ok, here's a warning: this story contains yaoi/shonen-ai/BL/whatever floats your boat. More specifically, Akuroku, and probably some other random pairings as well...

The Sora/Roxas scene is for my friend; I will never understand why he likes that couple, but to each his own.

~KeedaxEmry

How do I always end up here? In this exact spot, under that giant willow tree with twisted branches like the fingers of an old man. The sun is setting, and I'd see an orange sky framed by pink clouds if I bothered to look up from the shadows blanketing the ground. The air is finally starting to turn bitter—a sure sign that summer is coming to an end.

"Roxas?"

I can't help but look up at her; her face is pained...she obviously knows what is coming...

The guilt almost makes me back down. She has this innocent aura around her, and the necklace I gave her catches a ray of light, blinking at me as if it was already blaming me for the tears that were to come.

Quit stalling. Just do it.

"Xion, I'm sorry, but..." I began, my gaze already cast back towards my shoes.

"Are you breaking up with me?"

I flinched involuntarily. "I just can't do this anymore."

"What does that mean?"

"I really don't know," I said honestly.

I escaped before it could hit her.

I don't remember how I got home, but I must've walked because my feet were aching when I collapsed onto my bed.

My thoughts drifted until I was called for dinner. My relationships never seem to work out, no matter who I was with...something always felt wrong. Any physical affection made me feel nervous and awkward, any deep conversations gave me the urge to disappear. But this is what I'd always wanted! I had a pretty silly dream, especially considering I'm a guy, but...my parents would always tell me how they met, and I wanted it for myself. The idle glances, the late night talks, the moments you'd never forget...

I gave up on that a long time ago.

The crisp noise of fluttering paper brought me back to the present. When I had found yet another love note in my locker, everything came rushing back to me. But now I knew why that long string of girls never worked out.

"Because I'm gay," I sighed quietly, closing my locker with a clank.

Of course—_of course_—at that moment, the guy who made me realize that appeared out of nowhere. He grinned at me, his hands jammed into his pockets as if he was the coolest high schooler out there.

"Hey Rox," he said, his eyes making a note of my red cheeks.

Damn it.

"Hey Hayner," I replied dully, preparing to make my escape.

God, I thought, every time I see that smug look on his face—

"What's this?" He yanked the note out of my hands.

"H-hey!" I yelped, trying to grab it back, which proved unsuccessful since he has at least a few inches on me.

"Ooh, this is good," he teased. He made a big gesture of unfolding it and holding it up high in the air as he read. "You'll never guess who this is! I couldn't help but write this, because I've been admiring you from a distance for weeks now. I love your messy hair, and the way you always get annoyed when someone talks to you!" Hayner laughed. "Is this some kind of joke?"

I had to fight myself to keep standing there, bile rising in my throat and blood pounding in my ears.

"I really, _really_ want to talk to you! Oh, she drew a bunch of lopsided hearts next to that...please, please, please, _PLEASE_ meet me—"

I couldn't take anymore. I turned on heel and half-ran-half-walked out to my car, with Hayner yelling after me.

I locked the doors, sitting in the driver's seat for a moment.

That's the third note this week. Why can't they all just leave me alone?

I banged my fist on the steering wheel, making a girl who was headed past jump and glare at me. Whoops….

Shoving my keys in the ignition, I sped away. It's probably because I take college courses. My school pays for me to take classes from the university located here, because of how "gifted" I am. I could care less, it just gives girls another reason to chase after me. Although, my thoughts paused for a second as I eased on the gas and stopped at a red stoplight. I've been exceedingly unpopular ever since I stopped dating; all the superficial kids in my grade (about 97% of them) are all about dating and gossip. They got the impression that I thought that I was better than them. "Did you hear? He rejected Kairi. Kairi! Who does he think he is?", and so on.

I wiggled in my seat unhappily. I don't think that, I just don't want a girlfriend is all.

I reached towards the dashboard, jabbing the play button. Rush began to play, and usually that would be enough for that helpful ability to ignore my problems to return, but the world just loves to contradict me. I intended to grab a chip from the open bag next to me when I brushed across a piece of paper: another bloody love note.

My content at leaving school, at listening to some old school rock, abruptly vanished, turning instead to a scowl and some angry, reckless driving. Why had the swooning suddenly start up again? They were all happy ignoring me until now!

XxXxX

The next day, I woke up to a few loud beeps, and a low hum. Groaning, I reached for my phone. Olette...?

**Hey Roxas. Want to go to that café after school?**

I smiled at her text; she was one of my only good friends.

**Sure. I had another dream about him.**

Yes, she is the only person who knows that I'm gay.

I turned over, stretching, and bowing out of bed. I began to get ready for the day, dragging my feet around the room and yawning.

**Nameless guy? :)  
><strong>

Yes, we had given the guy of my unrequited affections a name.

**Ya, who else? :)  
><strong>

She replied immediately: **I'll see you later, then? And you will have to tell me all about your dream~**

I closed my phone, and my day was surprisingly pleasant until my English Comp class. Well, it wasn't exactly unpleasant, I really didn't know what to make of it, I mean it was...um, _weird_ and entirely out of the blue.

"You're name's Roxas, right?"

This boy just approached me in the hall afterwards. He had crazy, spiky hair and this fox-like smile on his face that made my heart stop.

"Y-yeah," I stuttered. God, I was getting embarrassed for nothing, right in the middle of the hall. People pushed past us, and I scooted closer to the wall, tucking my textbook closer to my chest and bowing my head to hopefully hide my unease. Nobody ever talks to me here. Ever.

He cocked his head, amused, following me. He stood awfully close to me, but I couldn't move away any further or my back would be pressed against the wall.

"I'm Sora," he introduced, offering his hand.

I shook it, letting go quickly. "Er, how do you know my name?"

"Do you want me to answer honestly or just tell a...little white lie?" He paused before saying that last bit, giving me an oddly hungry look that I didn't like at all. Who _is_ this kid? He looks like he's my age, but I thought I was the only high schooler taking these courses.

"Um, um," I fidgeted, realizing that I had let the silence stretch out for too long. "Whichever," I said weakly. He wouldn't stop staring at me! His eyes never wavered from mine, and it made me more nervous than the way he was smirking, all pleased with himself for embarrassing me. That made anger bubble up inside of me, which didn't last long at all, because he grabbed my chin.

"W-what the—" I jerked back, hitting the wall painfully and giving him the chance to pounce.

He tilted my head up in a heartbeat, pressing his lips against mine.

Oh...my...god...

_Oh my god!_

A second passed as I stood there, frozen. My heart seemed to have stopped, and I didn't seem to be breathing, but I couldn't even think about those trivial things. This guy, Sora, is kissing me! In the hallway!

I should've struggled. Should've, although I didn't. Why? What the hell was wrong with me, just standing there, my eyes wide with surprise? Well, to be honest, I have always wondered, you know. About kissing a guy. Hayner and I had messed around some, but never actually kissed, and I couldn't help but be a little curious. It was a lot like kissing a girl, actually, though his lips aren't slimy with chap stick. It was kind of wet, however. Are his lips parted? Is he going to…like, _french_ kiss me too?

What's my problem? Make him stop!

I had started out ogling at him, his face right in mine. I couldn't see much, other than his own eyes, which were closed and peaceful looking. Somehow, I had ended up closing my eyes as well, as if I was enjoying it...

I am not enjoying it! I clenched my fists, just as he began to stir. He leaned back an inch, and I gasped at him. I was half gasping because I was surprised, but I really needed some air as well. He gave me an amused look—what a jerk! He's standing there smirking because he's made me seem like a freaking desperate—

He leaned down, his lips parted.

"Did you enjoy that?" he purred.

I tried to tell him that _no, _I did NOT enjoy that in the slightest, you—

Alas, I didn't get the chance, because he was back to work.

This time, he licked my lips, watching me carefully as if waiting to get a reaction.

Oh, boy, did he get what he wanted.

"GET AWAY FROM ME, PERVERT! YOU FU—"

"Whoa." Sora backed away from me. "I'm sorry."

I panted, shaking. "STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!"

Without a word, he vanished, and I swear to God he looked smug.

That wasn't the worst part.

The worst part was that when I looked up, Nameless Guy was staring at me, his eyebrows raised in shock.

I was about to run—_I need to get far, far, far away from here_—when I heard: "Wait."

Was that...Nameless Guy?

I hardly dared to turn around, but there was no doubt about it.

Nameless Guy was talking to me.


	2. Phone Calls and Vicious Girls

"That guy is a jerk."

I blinked. He turned towards me, and I realized that I had been staring. Looking away, I wondered why Nameless Guy seemed so angry. His voice—which I've never even heard before—was filled with hate and disgust, but his eyes—which I could now see were a striking green—softened as he studied my face for a second.

"Uh, yeah," I blurted out. "I mean…" I added hopelessly. I stopped when I saw his eyes narrow. He has these tattoos right there on his cheeks, and in my dreams, I always trace them with the tips of my fingers. Then he'd—

What am I doing? Say something! Don't just gasp in amazement!

"I heard him talking to his friend," Nameless Guy explained. "They were making bets on you. On whether or not you're gay, if you'd resist, shit like that. They make me _sick_," he spat.

I nodded numbly. Is this really happening?

"This is going to sound weird but," he said uncertainly, "why don't you talk to anyone in class?"

"Oh," I swallowed. "Class is for studying, you know, and..." I lied hurriedly. I practically became a statue when his serious gaze fell on me, unwavering. My heart took off.

"Really," he said flatly.

"I-It's just that I don't really know anyone. I'm from the high school."

He hummed to himself softly, interested. "Hmm, what grade?"

"I'm a junior." I blushed for no apparent reason, and averted my eyes to a nearby poster.

"A junior? You make me feel awfully stupid," he laughed.

"Yeah," I smiled meekly at his response. He didn't seem resentful at all.

"I guess I'm not surprised, you don't look like a twenty-year-old," he mused.

"So, um," I said, trying to keep my voice cool and unconcerned, "how much did you see?" What I was thinking: I bet he saw me kiss Sora back. He knows I'm gay! Oh God, he's never going to talk to me after this.

"Enough," Nameless Guy shrugged. "I have this strong desire to beat the crap outta Sora, if that says anything."

I laughed nervously, subconscious of the heat that was spreading from my face to my neck.

He shifted, standing up straighter. He's so tall, I marveled. He wore a t-shirt of some band I've never heard of, dark jeans, and sneakers; a simple outfit, that on him, was stunning. How he pulled it off, I have no idea. His face is cat-like, and his hair is the color of fire, spiked out. I wanted to touch it to see if it was caked with hair gel, or if it was soft, like in my dream—

Stop thinking about that, I snapped at myself, flustered.

"Hey, are you listening?" Nameless Guy mumbled.

I jumped a little at that. "What?"

"Spacey. I kinda like that," he grinned.

Did he just say that? I couldn't help but squirm, my embarrassment immeasurable by then. I ducked my head.

"So, um, what's your major?" I quickly changed the subject.

"Basic Design. I'm getting through the stupid required stuff now though."

"Oh."

"I'm Axel. Got it memorized?"

"I'm Roxas."

"Sit next to me tomorrow. Now you have someone to talk to," he said happily.

"Ok."

He began to turn away, but then he stopped, smiling at me. "Do you have a cell phone?"

"Y-Yeah." I pulled it out. We swapped numbers, and I stared down at my new contact, amazed at my luck.

"And don't let those assholes get to you," he added. "See you tomorrow."

He began to leave.

"See...you..." I murmured, numb, but he was already gone.

Nameless Guy was no longer nameless.

XxXxX

Of course I raved about it later to Olette. I waved good bye to her, and drove home to find my parents sitting at the kitchen table, waiting for me.

Oh crap, I thought, I'm late, aren't I? I glanced at the clock worriedly, seeing that it was only eight o' clock. Well, sure, I had stayed longer than usual, but it was hard to pull myself away when I had so much to tell Olette.

"Have a seat," my mom demanded.

I did so, trying not to look guilty. My mom tends to be more aggressive than my dad, if you can believe that; she's tiny, barely five feet tall, and she's always wearing some tidy, feminine outfit. That did nothing to change the fact that she could be terrifying, with the way she glares at you, her entire face dark. Like she wants to murder you, I shuddered. I guess it doesn't help that she's a lawyer, but sometimes I wish she could be more easygoing, like my dad.

My dad is slender, and sometimes even he seems to be afraid of his wife. He's sort of timid, and quiet, and so much more understanding than my mom...Right now, he's biting his lip, overly worried, and his eyes keep flitting from me to my mom, sweat dotting his forehead.

"I called you, I was with Olette," I said quickly.

"That is not the problem here," my mom growled.

I gave her a confused look, and she shot daggers at me. "_My car_," she hissed. "Do you have any idea how much money—"

"What?"

Interrupting my mom: bad idea.

She slammed her fist on the table. "Roxas, do you want to be grounded until you're twenty-five? And what about that trip to Hawaii we were going to take, huh? How am I suppose to pay for it now?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said uncertainly, glancing at my dad.

He was mopping his face with a handkerchief. "You have to be careful around girls," he said nervously.

"Girls? What girls?"

My mom snapped at him. "Girls at his age are very fragile, Harold!"

"Yes, dear, I am just warning him that girls can be vicious." He tucked the handkerchief away, staring down into his lap.

"Vicious!" my mom laughed angrily. "Much more than vicious! Sadistic, obstreperous, pugnacious, belligerent!"

My dad and I just nodded like we knew what she was saying; sometimes she breaks out her colossal vocabulary, which always leaves the rest of us dazed and confused.

"Did something happen to your car?" I asked.

"Someone trashed it," my dad sighed, seeming to shoot me an apologetic look.

"Seriously?"

My mom threw a piece of paper across the table, scowling, and I picked it up.

Roxas, I read, you had better watch out.

That's it.

I looked up. "This is Kairi's handwriting," I gawked.

Why would she do this? What had I ever done—

Oh right.

"Did you cheat on the poor girl?" my mom barked.

"N-No!"

"Why didn't you tell us you have a girlfriend?" My dad shook his head slightly.

"I don't! I mean, she..." I muttered, at a loss for words.

"Then how do you know her handwriting?"

"You see, um, she's really popular and pretty and—"

"You _did not _do anything to her, did you? Please, for your sake, tell me you didn't," my mom rumbled, her voice low and dangerous, still staring me down.

"No, of course not!"

"Because if you did, that counts as sexual assault, and did you know that 44% of victims are under the age of eighteen and are more likely to suffer from—"

"Mom, I didn't do anything! She use to put these notes in my locker all the time, and she'd sign her name with her number, so that's how I know her handwriting, and, besides, we never went out, because I always said no, which is probably why she did this, and I'm really sorry, but I can't go out with her, she kind of scares me, and—"

"She likes you?" my mom interrupted my frantic raving.

"Well, yeah," I said, defeated.

"Not anymore," my dad chuckled.

"Harold! This is not a laughing matter!" my mom frowned.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"She smashed all the windows, slashed the tires, and left that little note on the seat."

I expect her to follow up with a fierce "she is going to court!" but suddenly her face softened.

"It's very hard, being rejected," she said softly.

"Um, yeah," I nodded, wondering what had gotten into her.

"You didn't just flat-out refuse, right?" my dad leaned forward, his eyes lighting up.

"No."

"That's good," my mom stood up. "I guess you're off the hook, lucky you. Now, to call our trip adviser about Hawaii..."

She left, and I smiled. She wasn't going to give up on our vacation that easily.

My dad walked past, rustling my hair.

"Someone called for you."

I looked over at him, where he was at the counter, grabbing a notebook; he's an author, who isn't ashamed that his wife brings in most of our income. My thoughts immediately went to Nameless Guy—I mean, Axel, and I flushed.

"Who was it?" I asked.

"I don't know, didn't say. You should probably call him back though."

Him...so it was Axel!

"Ok," I said, grinning.

"Wanna hear a secret?" My dad stopped in the doorway, a mischievous look on his face.

"What?"

"I rejected your mom the first time she asked me out."

Big surprise.

I went upstairs to my room, flopping down on my bed. Why didn't Axel just call my cell?

That was because my phone was off; I had turned it off at the café, I remembered, rather sadly. That would've been great if he called then!

I called him back immediately, but he didn't answer.

Disappointed, I turned over until I was on my back and stared up at my ceiling. I should go to bed, I thought, I just know that I won't be able to sleep though. Not like this...

I shivered, the feeling of Sora's lips on mine, and, most of all, the memory of Axel, made it impossible to sit still. I jumped up, and I was about to go grab my PSP when my phone rang.

I snatched it, my heart thumping.

Annoyance sank deep into my chest when I realized it was only Hayner.

"Hello?" I answered it, my voice flat and bored.

"Hey."

Shit. Shitshitshit. I knew that voice. He was obviously upset, because that one word was barely audible, and his voice cracked at the end. He sounded hoarse, like he'd been crying, and desperate. _Shit, not now, Hayner._

"Are you ok?" I asked, already knowing what was coming.

"I...I need you right now, Rox."


	3. Jokes and Arguments

I rolled over, moaning. I kept my eyes closed, drifting back to sleep, until I felt something brush across my neck.

"Mmmm," I moaned. "Stop."

It continued, however, and I was forced to open my eyes. Hayner grinned at me, drawing back. He pushed the blankets down to expose my bare chest, brushing his fingers across my skin, so lightly I could barely feel it. I pushed him away as his advanced took him, um, further. We'd been doing this on and off for a year now. It's pretty complicated...

"You don't love me," he whimpered. Through the darkness, I could see his lip jutted out, and the way his entire body was turned towards me.

"Nope," I said, twisting around until I wasn't facing him and the covers were up to my chin.

I was a second away from dreaming when I heard sniffing. Hayner wasn't just tearing up—he was bawling. And, I must add, he was trying to hide it from me by burying his head in a pillow.

"Hayner," I murmured, guilty. All this because I wouldn't let him have his way.

I yanked on the pillow, and he whimpered. Once his face was revealed, he wrapped his arms around my torso and pressed himself against me until all I could see was his messy hair.

"Please."

"No," I said firmly.

"Y-you don't know what it's like! My mom's always drunk a-a-and—" He broke off with a loud sob.

I rubbed his back, trying to be soothing. "I know, I know. But we can't, and, besides, what if my parents heard?"

"They're downstairs and your door is locked."

"Still. You should sleep."

"I don't want to."

"Too bad."

Eventually we both fell silent, and I closed my eyes once his breathing relaxed.

At one point, I would've loved to call him my boyfriend. He, however, made it clear that this was not the case, and seemed to go out of his way to assure that he's straight, and to poke fun at me whenever humanely possible. I never directly told him that I don't find girls attractive in the slightest, but I'm sure he caught on. We'd gotten into arguments over it on multiple occasions, which always left my blood boiling. "I'm not gay, I'm just weak at times," he would repeat. Whatever the hell that meant. He never cared about what I wanted either—namely all that fluffy stuff you find in women's magazines. Holding hands, kissing good night...no, instead, he liked to sneak into my room whenever he's having a hard time at home and throw himself on me. That can't be healthy. I really hate him for it, but his family is horrid, so it's not like I can just tell him to leave. Family aside, I still wouldn't let him go all the way. I want to lose my virginity in a romantic way, with the right person, and that certainly wasn't going to happen anytime soon with Hayner. Not now, not ever, and besides—

"This lunch is revolting," Olette's voice dragged me back to the cafeteria. She looked down at her tray, stabbing at her macaroni and cheese in disgust.

"Yeah," I agreed.

"You were daydreaming about him, weren't you?" she smiled slyly, saying that just loud enough for me to hear.

"I was not! Well...maybe."

Our table dynamic consisted of me, Olette, Naminé, Pence, and Hayner.

"What are you two talking about?" Naminé blinked.

She was one of the few girls who didn't seem to hate me. For saying no to a date, I mean.

"Nothing," I said hurriedly. "Is today Wednesday?"

"It's Thursday," Hayner sort of scowled.

Aww, I don't have any college classes today, which means no Axel. I was about to say something to that effect—without the Axel part of course—when someone cleared her throat. Loudly.

Larxene was hovering near my chair. She's our school's bitch; she's always either bad mouthing someone, or picking fights with "prissy little girls." (Her words, not mine.) Today she was wearing dark, tight clothing as usual, and her eyelashes seemed capable of stabbing through my chest. Makeup, I thought, I will never understand it.

"You're going to take me out to dinner. Tonight. Seven o' clock sharp," she said in that loud, bossy voice she always uses.

She started to leave, as if I had readily agreed, but stopped when Hayner snorted. "Talk about forcing yourself on someone."

I shot him a dirty look, which went largely unnoticed, because Larxene snapped.

"What did you say?" she growled, her back still turned.

"You heard me. Who'd want to go out with a hideous snob?"

Larxene was beyond pissed. Her expression was one that left me horrified as she stalked towards our table, just about ready to skin Hayner alive.

I practically bolted on instinct when she addressed me.

"You want to go out with me." She pointed a manicured fingernail at me. "Right?" She slightly cringed, which made me think that she meant to phrase that as a question.

"Well, I, um..." I sputtered, wanting her icy gaze to be anywhere else. I wish I could say: no thanks, I'm gay...that was something that would have left me mortified, the desire to disappeared too great...

Or better yet, I could say: you scare me.

Both were true.

Both would have gone over better than what I actually ended up saying which is: never.

As soon as that simple word passed through m lips, I froze. Naminé gave a startled little gasp, Olette stiffened, Pence sort of blinked, and Hayner…well, he grinned at me, looking pleased.

Larxene broke out a colorful vocabulary at that, saying things that should never be repeated, under any circumstances. Her face was flushed and she seemed ready to jump the few feet that separated us, and rip my throat out.

Then she sort of slumped over, as if she didn't want to waste her time on me.

"Whatever," she suddenly sighed. "I guess this proves it."

"Proves what?" I rasped.

"You won't go out with anyone. I only asked because I was paid," she smirked. "Twenty bucks, as if you're worth that. I sincerely hope you die a excruciatingly painful death in the near future."

She leaned towards me, and I went as still as a plank, sure she was going to slap me. Instead, she whispered in my ear, "Who'd want to go out with a pipsqueak like yourself anyway? And don't think for a second that I don't know."

My head was still reeling after she disappeared. What could she know about me? That I'm gay, is that it? How could she, unless, maybe—

No, she's never at the college.

But then how would she...?

"Roxas, are you ok?" Naminé asked, concerned.

I jumped up. "I just remembered that I gotta go, uh, talk to Mr. Spencer. See you later."

With that, I fled out to the hall.

She can't know, I tried to convince myself as I leaned against the wall, gasping for air.

I roamed around until I found my locker, trying my hardest to ignore what had happened.

The only problem is, once I yanked the lock off, I found myself staring at what looked like some weird, psychotic joke.

A limp doll was hung from the coat hook, a red shoelace wrapped around it's neck. It was about the size of my hand, with a mop of yellow hair and a simple brown outfit. It had threaded X's for eyes, and the whole thing was gray. Worse of all, it _reeked_. I covered my nose as soon as it hit me—it was worse than a sewer, it was like a football field filled with rotting corpses, slowly decaying under the hot sun.

I grabbed it, and threw it away in the nearest trash can.

But not before I noticed my name, scribbled on it's back in a red Sharpie.

And it was because of that that I almost didn't notice what else was sitting there, waiting for me.

A piece of paper. Great, I thought sarcastically.

It was on its way to a reunion with the doll until something stopped me. It was different than the love notes I'd received before. Namely, the handwriting wasn't curvy and flourished, and hearts were nowhere to be seen. It was pretty plain, actually, and whoever had written it had awful handwriting.

All it said was to meet in front of Isle Park at six o' clock.

I narrowed my eyes, suspicious at first, but in the end, I decided I'd give it a shot.

What did I expect? A guy.

I laughed bitterly, stretching out on the grass. The park is pretty nice this time of day. It's when all the little kids are safe at home, when all the stoners are still waiting for the sun to completely set. The light begins to fade, and the crickets hum in the background.

I took a deep breath, savoring the peace and quiet.

Why did I come exactly?

I couldn't even answer that. Because the note seemed odd, I guess, and it might be the person who left the doll as well.

I shuddered. I hadn't thought about that up to now. My eyes swept the area, which was empty, and I forced myself to relax, breathing in the sweet smell of grass and fresh air.

Oh, I know, I can ask her what is so appealing about me. Seriously. I'm antisocial, my hair is always sticking up, and whatever comes out of my mouth seems to be awkward and embarrassing. Have they all gone mad or something?

"Hey, you showed."

I got up slowly, as if I could care less, but then I gasped. "What are you doing here?"

Axel gave me a lopsided smile. "What kind of greeting is that?"

"Uh, I'm sorry, just...so, how are you?" I asked awkwardly.

"Great. You got my note, I presume?" He looked away, as if he was..._embarrassed_.

"You…" I stared at him.

He wrote it?

I shook my head; no way. "Um, what'd you say?"

"The note telling you to meet me here," he shrugged.

There's no way in hell that he'd invite me here so he could confess his love or ask me out to dinner or anything like that. No freakin' way. There had to be another reason.

"Oh, did you get the essay assignment?" I asked.

"Yes."

"If you wanted to hang out," I said, confused, "you could have called me. Wait, how did you even know where my locker is?"

I absolutely refuse to let myself become hopeful. Nope, not going to happen, he is not interested.

"Well," he coughed, "one day I sorta followed you."

"You what?"

"I know it sounds weird, but I wanted to leave the note."

He isn't going to say that he's had this secret crush on me. No, I know where this is going. He's going to—

Actually, I have no clue where this is going.

"Uh, what?" I asked dumbly.

"Do you want to go grab a bite to eat?"

"Sure."

I began to follow him, but he shook his head. "Do you understand what I'm asking?"

"I think so," I said, more confused than ever.

"I was asking you out."

I would have passed out right there, if someone hadn't yelled, "Hey Axel, wait up!"

A/N: I am going to be busy soon (vacations and whatnot) but I will try my best to update regularly.

~KeedaxEmry


	4. Creepers and Hot Coffee

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" Axel snapped.

His friend, Demyx, had been following us like a stray dog, thumping Axel's back and winking at me and saying things like "imagine running into my bestie and his adorable _friend_." It was making me nauseous. All the little hints he was dropping, while I blushed and Axel smoldered, seemed to be extremely loud and made people give us weird looks. I couldn't help but think of your typical jock: loud, obnoxious, and perverted.

"Nope!" Demyx exclaimed cheerfully as we continued down the street. Axel seemed to be leading us in circles, trying to shake his leech-like friend off. "I refuse to leave you two alone!"

Obviously.

"Why?" Axel growled, looking ready to sock him. I trailed behind them, biting my lip.

"No glove, no love, right?" he smirked. "And God knows you need it."

Axel glared at him. "Shut your God damn mouth and leave us alone."

"Roxas agrees, don'tchya?" Demyx pounced on me, putting me in a brief head lock.

"What?" I sidestepped away from him.

"Do you know what he's crawling with?" he blabbered on. "I am saving your ass here, Mr.R, sir." He saluted, then laughed. "No pun intended."

"That's it," Axel growled. "I swear, I will-"

"No!" Demyx pretended to scream. "Don't hurt me! I'll go buy a condom right away!"

A woman walking by stared at us for a second, then bolted in the opposite direction. Axel watched her, clenching his fists before he tried to clobber Demyx.

I scooted away as they fought; it obviously wasn't serious, because Demyx was laughing his head off. When they stopped, Demyx's nose was bleeding, but he still appeared to be in high spirits.

"You try to do someone a favor," he chuckled.

"Do me a favor and make yourself scarce," Axel shot back.

"Ok. ok," he agreed. "Roxas, if he pulls out a handkerchief, just-"

"Demyx!"

"I'm going home. See ya," he grinned.

Once he was gone, Axel relaxed, giving a little sigh and shooting me a sheepish smile. I was still in a complete daze, thinking that this had to be a pretty lame dream. I mean, those string of hot dreams where his hands are running up my back...to this. It couldn't possibly be real, not with my horrible luck, and besides which, why would someone like Axel want to go out with me?

Soon I was sipping on scorching hot coffee in a plush little booth with Axel across from me. It burned my throat, stinging painfully as it went down, and I set it down quickly. I guess I wasn't dreaming after all.

Axel's eyes kept wandering from my face to his cup to the window and back again. Silence, as ear-crushing as they come. Never mind the soft tinkling of silverware in the background, or the waiter's dull voice, we weren't saying a thing.

When I caught Axel staring at my lips, his eyes snapped to his lap, and he muttered something.

I wanted to ask, "What are you doing?" or, better yet, I wanted to say something clever and witty.

Hayner's voice popped into my head: what a pussy.

"Um," I blurted out.

Axel beat me to it. "I don't normally do this."

"Huh?"

"And I can't believe you agreed," he shook his head. "I'm older, you barely know me-"

"I don't care! Er, well," I tried to amend as he stared at me, "I've sorta had, like, a crush on you."

He laughed at that, overlooking the fact that I was desperately wishing I could disappear. "Me too."

"Really?"

"Yeah, and because of the whole Sora thing, you know..."

Of course.

"Oh," I said. "This is kinda random, but did you put a doll in my locker?" Like he'd do that. "Or see a doll?"

His eyebrows knit in confusion. "No."

"Never mind then," I said quickly.

He let that go, thankfully, and the conversation flowed from there. I was so absorbed in learning little tid-bits about him that I almost forgot to tell my parents that I'd be late; while we dug into dessert, I left them a message on our answering machine.

Just as I was tucking my phone away, Axel hissed, "That guy has been staring at us this whole time. What the hell's his problem?"

I turned to look but Axel shook his head frantically. "Don't. Let's leave."

I did, however, manage to get a peek at a guy about our age who busied himself in texting as we past.

I wouldn't have been bothered if I didn't notice him jumping up and ducking out of the restaurant after us.

"Oh God, he's following us," I rasped.

Axel's eyes darted behind him. "What a creeper." He raised his voice. "What do you think you're doing?"

He turned to the guy angrily, who by this point I had dubbed Mr. Stalker, and I practically cowered behind him. What is he thinking?

The guy jumped, startled, then muttered, "Is that any of your business?"

"I suppose it isn't, except you've been gawking and now you're acting like a freakin' stalker. If you're that amazed by our beauty, take a picture."

With that, Axel grabbed my hand, and strode away, disgusted. I stiffened, and then my stomach swooped and my body did its best to embarrass me. My hand turned sweaty and clammy, and my breath became ragged little pants. My thoughts fled from the guy to hiding all of this from Axel-who only yesterday had been Nameless Guy.

I guess he noticed despite my best attempts, because he suddenly let go of me as if I was a hot coal. "I'm sorry," he apologized.

"It's ok," I swallowed, my tongue sandpaper.

"You should probably get home. Is your car at the park?"

"Actually I walked," I admitted. "My car wouldn't start this morning."

"Shit, really?" He ran his hands through his hair and before my imagination could start up, he asked, "Do you live nearby?"

"Kinda."

"Can you make it by yourself?" He bit his lip. "God, I'd walk you, but I have this stupid project to finish."

The street was lite up by streetlights, but past that, it was pitch black. It made me wary, to say the least, although that wasn't going to stop me; not when Axel stood in front of me.

"I'll be fine," I forced myself to say, even though I wasn't entirely convinced.

"Are you sure?" He paused. "Screw it, let's go."

I shook my head, not wanting him to go out of his way for me. "My house is close."

"Well, ok," he agreed reluctantly. "I'll see you around then."

He started to leave, even though his eyes still seemed to linger on me, when I asked, "So this isn't a one time thing, right?"

God, I sounded pathetic, my voice barely above a whisper, with a hint of fear in it. Although I still could not believe that a guy as unreachable as him would want to go out with me, and a part of me said that this was a sick joke.

My heart fluttered when he jerked back towards me. "Of course not," he said easily.

Then his face came closer and closer to mine, until all I could see were his serious eyes and the way a smile was hovering on his lips.

I didn't care that he kissed me in public.

I couldn't be bothered that it was only for a second, and that afterwards he left me standing there breathless.

No. It was quite possibly the best thing that has graced my existence.

I began to float home, the feeling of his lips on mine.

So, for good reason, I wasn't paying much attention. My mind was buzzing with Axel, Axel, Axel, while the night sank in deeper.

Somehow, I did notice a slight scuffing noise behind me. I whipped around, too much weird shit had been going on, to see...

Nothing.

The noise was relentless, however, and a block and a half later, I could _still_ hear it: the whisper of gravel crunching under someone's feet, the swish of someone's pant leg. But whenever I snuck a peek back the way I'd come, it'd be empty. And quiet. Start walking, and it'd start right back up, like a leaky faucet that drips all night, no matter what you do.

I'm being followed.

That thought hit me like a wall of cold water. A chill ran up my spine, and I quickened my pace. What does he want? It must be that weird guy-or Kairi? Some revenge seeking girl? That doll-

My breath got caught in my throat when I heard a muted bang. I spun towards it, horrified, expecting to see Mr. Stalker staring me down.

A guy was standing as still as a statue in the middle of the street.

I tensed.

Only it wasn't a guy. She placed a hand on her curved waist as someone stepped out from behind her: Mr. Stalker. They both wore dark jackets with pulled-up hoods that prevented me from seeing their faces. I could barely make out the outline of their jaws. The woman pointed at me silently, and Mr. Stalker reached into his pocket.

I bolted, running blindly until I was stumbling into my house. I don't know if they followed me or not, but I locked the door in a heartbeat, gasping for air as my lungs ached and it all caught up to me. I shuddered, blood pounding in my ears while my legs throbbed.

"Roxas?"

I bit back a scream-and sighed, seeing my mom.

"Hey."

"Are you ok?" she asked, concerned. Then came the whole mother routine, feeling my forehead, and wrapping her arms around me with a tight bear hug. She may be pretty uptight most of the time, but she's always there for me.

"You look atrocious. Where were you? What happened?" She let go of me, analyzing my face. I'm sure I looked more than a little shaken up.

"I was having dinner with Olette."

I ignored the pang of guilt that hit me when I said that. I was going to tell her about Axel...just not now. And, besides, I don't want her worrying about Mr. Stalker.

"Why were you running?"

"It's nothing, I just didn't want to be late."

"Did you break up with Olette?"

"Don't be ridiculous, mom," I said, surprised. Parents and their assumptions.

"You can't lie to me." She put on her no-nonsense face, and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"I'm not lying. I need to finish my homework."

With that, I pushed past her to my room, where I shut the door quickly. I felt safer after I showered and curled up on my bed with a book.

Despite myself, I almost had a heart attack when my phone rang. I saw who it was-Axel-which just made the thumping in my chest intensify.

"Hello?"

"Hi there," he said happily. "Did you get home ok?"

I switched the phone to my other ear. "Yeah, thanks."

"So what are you doing tomorrow?"

"Nothing."

"When do you get off school?"

"Three."

"I'll pick you up then. In the north parking lot? I'll wave you down or something."

"Ok."

"Oh, and about when I left," he said, an edge of awkwardness in his voice. "I didn't want you to think that I'm not serious."

"When you, uh..."

"Yeah, that," he laughed. "I got the feeling that I freaked you out. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I, uh, it was fine."

"Well then. I'd like to do it again."

I flushed. Is he flirting with me?

No duh. He is my boyfriend after all.

"Boyfriend," I said without thinking, wanting to hear it out loud, as if it'd make it more real. It tasted sweet as it rolled off my tongue.

"Huh? Roxas?"

I almost yelped. "What?"

"Did you say something?"

"No."

"Oh, my bad."

Thank you God.

"So, er, what are we going to do tomorrow?"

"I guess I can't really take you to the usual places," he said thoughtfully.

"Why not?"

"Too young," he said, amused. "I don't know, you pick."

Where would I want to go? Think, Roxas, think. Where had I taken dates to back then? I racked my brain, yielding poor results. To the pool, the movies, the food court in the old mall? God, just thinking about it made me feel like a twelve-year-old.

"I have no idea," I finally said.

"Please tell me you've dated before," he teased. "I didn't think you were _that_ inexperienced."

"S-shut up. I've dated."

"Oh? Girls your parents picked?"

"No!" I blurted, even though that wasn't far from the truth. "I've just never dated a guy," I admitted.

"Ah, I see."

"Not that I don't have experience," I added quickly, not wanting him to think of me as some little kid. Then I realized how stupid I sounded and exclaimed, "I mean, there's this guy who I've done stuff with-"

"Hey, don't sweat it," he chuckled. "You have plenty to learn, and I'm a verrrry good teacher."

"Sure you are," I said dryly even though my stomach flopped over. I stretched in an attempt to release some of the nervous energy that was bubbling up in me.

"Swear on my mother's life," he said solemnly. Then he lightened up. "I'm just screwing with you. I love how innocent you are. It's adorable."

"We'll see about that," I braved.

Laughter. "I guess so. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Ok, bye."

I hung up, gave a sort of manly squeal-God I'm such a girl-and hugged a pillow to my chest.

My door crept open, revealing my mom. She smiled, saying, "Looks like you worked things out with Olette."

I snorted. "I'm gay, mom."


	5. Gossip and Blackmail

"You did _what_?" Olette gasped at me.

We normally don't gossip during class too much, not if we want to avoid adding fuel to the ever-present gossip in this school, but today I just couldn't help it. I was going to burst if I didn't tell her. I couldn't wait until lunch; I saw her, and it all spilled out, from the date to how I had a little talk with my mother, which went like this basically:

"I'm gay, mom."

"What, wait? Oh...that's..."

"Uh, mom?"

"Quite alright. Yes, that's quite alright, Roxas, dear, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. If you want me to..."

She looked shocked, standing there with her mouth open and her hand frozen in midair where it had swung the door open. She rambled for a little while, until I interrupted to tell her briefly about Axel and she smiled, although her eyes were dazed like she was going to faint.

Luckily Olette and I were seated in the far back of the art room—it's the only class I have with her.

"I couldn't believe it either," I laughed.

"What'd she say?"

I lowered my voice. "She was surprised, but eventually she asked me if I was having boy trouble."

"And your dad?"

"I t_hink_ she told him last night, but I doubt he'll ever bring it up anyway."

"Yeah, he tends to avoid awkward conversations." She wrinkled her nose. "Remember how he started making pancakes when we were talking about how silly bands and condoms are made out of the same things?"

"And he turned the radio on full blast?"

"Yeah."

We both laughed.

"You know," I said, clutching my side, "if I was straight, I would be crazy about you."

"Uh, yeah."

"Sorry," I muttered as she scribbled into her notebook, her head bowed. I thought that I had embarrassed her, but then I saw how determined she looked, a certain fire in her eyes. I poked her shoulder curiously. "Olette?"

She smiled at me and gave a tiny nod towards the desk. There was one sentence written there in her neat, block handwriting: Don't look at Larxene.

Huh?

"Wha—" She kicked my shin right as my eyes wandered to where Larxene was seated, in front of us and a little to the left. I couldn't help but see what Olette was trying to hide. I almost choked, and a coughing fit ensued while Larxene smirked and tucked the photo away, pleased.

"How the hell?" I sputtered.

"Are you ok?" Olette's concerned voice somehow made it to my ears.

The rest of the class went, well, I'm not really sure because I was fixated on my lap, my entire body tensed and sweaty as if I had just ran a marathon. Anyone could've saw while she fixed her eyes on me, holding it up without bothering to be discrete.

Right when the bell rang, she confronted me in the hall, wearing a broad grin that showed off her blindingly white teeth that reminded me of bleach and tooth paste. "What a show," she commented.

"How did you get that?" I managed, shaking slightly. Ok, she scared me a little bit. Or a whole lot. She looks like a hungry cobra; I suppressed a shudder.

"My lanky got it. I do believe that he," she whipped the picture out, pointing at Axel, her fingernail right on the edge of his chin, "confronted him."

"Mr. Stalker?" I asked automatically.

"Yeah, whatever. _Anyway_ I tried to show you this lovely shot outside of school, to save you from some weird breakdown, but you ran away. And, besides, this was more enjoyable," she giggled.

Mr. Stalker...and Larxene? They're the ones who followed me?

"And, because of you, shortie, I am going to the spa this weekend!" she beamed, dancing out of the way of my fingers, while I desperately tried to get that five-by-eight shot of embarrassment.

"I don't think so," she continued. "Kairi must be loaded, huh? Hundred-fifty, for this stupid thing. And it was sooo easy, I mean, kissing on Dewy Street? Ha!"

"Please give it to me," I begged as the bell rang overhead. We both ignored it—a tardy versus her publicizing this, and being shunned for the rest of my high school days? Maybe I could pass it off as a bet or dare or something, but people were sure to spread the little detail that Axel's at least three years older than me.

"Sorry, kid," she sort of waved it in my face, "but you're going to have to be the highest bidder. Or you're going to become Kairi's little sweetheart. She has this God-complex, you see, and no ordinary boyfriend is good enough for her. Only the guy who refuses everyone."

"But—I...how much?"

Her eyes widened. "You'd rather cough up some cash? Wow, you must be like, the world's biggest fag."

I flinched. "Hundred-fifty?"

"Hmm…two hundred."

"That's—"

She cut off my protest with a, "Not my problem. Take it or leave it."

"I don't..."

"Can't you just act all mushy with that priss?"

"Well," I paused, swallowing, "for how long? And you'll give me the picture?"

"At least a week and I'll give you the digital copy too. Or I'll just delete it," she said thoughtfully. "It's disgusting that Marcus even took this picture."

I couldn't see a way out.

On the bright side, I now had a pretty awesome picture, and I knew the identities of Creeper One and Creeper Two.

On the flip side, the side that was pissing me off and making my stomach ache, I was going to have Kairi hanging off me every second for the next one-hundred sixty-eight hours. I've seen her with her past boyfriends; it's all touchy-feely, can't get enough, I-want-to-suck-your-face-off stuff that usually ended with a broken heart (the guy) and a rejuvenated, free-to-flirt single (Kairi).

Which is why I spent my lunch trying to pretend I was with Axel. The problem with that, however, would be distorting his figure in my mind until he was shorter and curvy.

Right when I entered the cafeteria, she yelled my name, threw herself over to me, and slid onto my lap, her arms snaking around my waist while she puckered her lips, whining. I saw her lips moving, and heard something that didn't register because she was leaning forward, pressing her chest against mine and showing way too much cleavage. I tried to think of Axel, but it proved exceedingly difficult. I doubt he smells like the inside of a perfume store. And I also doubt he wears lip gloss that tastes like bubble gum.

I battled with the urge to gag and push her off, and managed to win, forcing a smile as she pulled away.

It was revolting.

As she complained about her fry-free diet, something occurred to me. Am I...cheating on Axel?

I'll tell him everything.

I was f_orced_.

This is to protect the both of us. It's only—

"Roxas," Kairi giggled. "You're so out there."

"Um, what?"

"Did you hear me, or were you too busy daydreaming about tonight?"

"Tonight?" I asked blankly.

"The homecoming dance. You're taking me." She shifted, her hair brushing my nose and making me wince, and began to talk to one of her many friends.

That's when I noticed that everyone at our table were _her_ friends; my own friends were giving us a wide berth, and for good reason. A week in hell, I thought sadly.

With great difficulty, I reached around her, being mindful not to touch her, and grabbed my bread, taking a bite as she yapped on.

"I am going to wear a pink dress, so you have to match." She turned to me. "Ok? And don't forget it starts at s_ix thirty_."

"What does?"

I guess I was too absorbed in my predicament.

"The dance!"

"..."

"Are you ok?"

"..."

I swallowed, and found my voice. "Yeah. When do I have to pick you up?"

"Six," she said matter-of-factly. "So we can get dinner before hand, at Murphy's."

If Larxene wasn't going to clean me out, it was going to be her. Murphy's is the most expensive restaurant in town—it's a steakhouse that you have to dress up for. Exactly.

Axel. Our date...

"Could you, maybe, go with your friends?" I tried, my voice weak.

Her eyes turned to ice. "No, I can not," she snapped. "There's no way in hell I am going without a date."

"I h-h-have plans."

"Change them."

"I—"

"Change. Them." She forced her teeth to unclench, looking like she wanted to use her fork to gorge my eyes out.

I nodded frantically.

She smiled.

I meditated through my day, sending Axel texts and sucking on my favorite flavors of Jolly Ranchers.

I pulled my phone out during my Health class, which is taught by this creepy older guy, who everyone calls Mr. P (for pedophile) and hid it under the table.

**I can't make it tonight. I'm sorry.**

He replied a minute later, saying: **It's ok. How about tomorrow?**

I tucked it out of sight as the teacher eyeballed me, either scooping to see if I was breaking some rule or thinking about undressing me. He's like that.

**Ok, **I put, **l8r, I'm in class.**

I finally put it back In my pocket after reading **Ooh rebellious.**

I shook my head, suppressing a grin, and ripped a piece of paper out of my notebook. We were suppose to write an essay on how BMI (Body Mass Index) is a "key tool to your well-being and how it can help you make lifestyle decisions." Something like that. I wasn't really listening.

The paper remained blank, with nothing but my name scribbled at the top, because it proved impossible to ignore that argument that was brewing.

A/N: Random voting! Ok, should Mr.P be Xigbar, Marluxia, or Vexen? I think they're the creepiest Kingdom Hearts characters...

~KeedaxEmry


	6. Differences and Misunderstandings

A/N: Axel's a bit of a pervert in this chapter, just to warn ya. =.=

And thanks for voting!

~KeedaxEmry

"I don't see how this is important. It's not like I'm fat."

A girl giggled, and whispered something about muscles. The speaker was Riku; he's Sora's best friend, and he's just as obnoxious, just in different ways. He seems to be good at everything—and I do mean _everything_. He sets records in every sport he's in, he got the lead in a play the one time he auditioned, his features are "graced with flawlessness" (not my words, Naminé's), and he's easy to get along with. It's probably the same charisma that Hitler had. He's probably massing followers as I sit here, plotting to overthrow the city, or at least this school. Riku got the lucky card when they were handing out genes. His body is flawlessly toned, but his hair is long and silky like a girl's. He's smart too. I remember one year he won a math competition and received two hundred dollars as a reward. Sure, he's gotten in trouble for picking fights with assholes and unfair teachers, but it was always to stand up for the general student population. The only time I've ever noticed Sora was when he was with Riku, although his hair's different now, which is why I didn't recognize him. I swear, one time I saw Sora slip his hand in Riku's pants. That had to be my imagination. Not that Sora wouldn't do that, Riku wouldn't let him. He's the type of guy who would give you a present, with the excuse of "it's a Tuesday." Sora's the type of guy who would give you a pie filled with laxative. Which is why it's so baffling that they even talk. Riku's so perfect. It's sickening. You know what else? He's adopted. He lives with this guy who use to get drunk all the time—but get this—because of Riku's help, he's been sober for three years now. How great can one guy be? Everyone confides in him, everyone trusts him. He drove this girl to Greenville to get a surgery because her parents refused to. It saved her life. The stories go on and on; I'm sure if I ever needed anything, I could ask him, even though we're not friends or anything. I sincerely believe that all the students and staff are secretly in love with him.

I watched as he glowered at the teacher, pointing at a textbook and making his hair fall in front of his face.

God he's hot.

I hate it.

No one can be that perfect. This is all an act, I'm sure. I'm kidding myself here, even I can't find a single flaw. Riku was my biggest crush until Axel came along, which is why I know so much about him. No, that's not weird, I didn't follow him or anything, just watched him in the library sometimes and memorized his schedule so we could "bump" into each other. Ok, shutting up.

I tuned back in to hear the teacher, whose real name is Vexen, bark, "You are going to finish this assignment if you want a passing grade."

Riku, who was standing up, leaning against his desk and looking at Mr.P as if he was bored, said, "This doesn't tell you what to do if you are underweight or overweight, so I don't see the point. It doesn't tell us how to find our BMI either."

"It meets the standards and—"

"And, as we all know, standards mean everything," Sora stood up next to Riku, rolling his eyes, "because they fund this shithole."

"Do _not_ use that kind of language in here."

"Gladly," Sora smirked. "If you stop sneaking into the locker rooms."

Mr.P stared at him, his eyes looked like they were bulging out of his head in fury. "If you two don't sit down right now, I'm giving you detention," he growled.

Sora and Riku obviously couldn't care less, because they kept standing there, unbothered by the whole thing. By now, the entire class was watching, most gleaming with admiration.

A few seconds passed in complete silence. Then Mr.P bent over his desk to grab a pen.

I'll never understand this, but Riku picked the textbook up and ripped a page out. The sound of paper ripping was deafening. People held their breathes as Mr.P froze.

I will also never ever understand why I bolted over there, and yanked the textbook out of Riku's hands. I didn't think about it, just did it as the torn page fell and settled softly on the floor, Riku giving me a surprised look. Mr.P's gaze fixed on me.

And the three of us found ourselves in the office.

"You didn't have to do that," Riku said as we waited.

I shrugged.

"You're not so bad after all!" Sora beamed, punching my arm like we were the best of buddies. "Maybe that bet was a good thing."

Riku shot him a dirty look. "I can't believe you actually did that, Sora."

He laughed. "If he liked it, what's the problem?"

"Um.." I tried. Riku was glaring at Sora, who in turn was grinning ear-to-ear.

We heard the bell ring, and school was over before we could get our punishment.

"Hell yeah!" Sora exclaimed, already heading for the door. He stopped, and leaned forward until his face was uncomfortably close to mine. "You wanna hang out or something?"

"Well, I—"

"Sora," Riku warned. He looked pissed.

"What?" he asked defensively, now out of my personal space at least. "You can come too. God calm down."

He rolled his eyes at me like "what are we going to do with this guy?" and we headed outside. I didn't know what I was doing. Sora and Riku? I should be getting ready for that stupid dance...and begging my parents for money...

"Kairi, huh?" Riku was asking. "I was surprised.

"Yeah," Sora snorted, "never pegged you as the type."

"Well, yeah," I said for the sake of saying something.

"Aren't you..." Riku glanced at me. "You know."

"He is! We went over this!" Sora bursted.

"Then why—"

"Aliens. Only explanation."

"What are you talking about?" I finally asked.

"About whether or not you're—"

As if on cue, Axel pulled up beside us, his window rolled down as he waved. His smile melted into a harsh frown when he saw who I was with, and I walked over while Sora snickered.

"Hey," Axel said coldly. "Those are the bastards who—"

"I know," I said quickly. "I can explain—"

"Explain what exactly? That you ditched me to go have a goddamn threesome?"

"Hey, I'm Riku," he slid up next to me, while Sora held back, watching us. "We got into some trouble, and Roxas here really helped us out. Sora wanted us to all hang out."

"That's not why I cancelled. Look, I have til six..." I said desperately.

"Fine. Get in," Axel barked.

I did so, nervously.

But things went well. We drove up to a secluded place in a wooded area and parked. I explained everything, and he vowed to tear Kairi's head off.

"I was really looking forward to this, too," Axel said regretfully. He traced the top of my thigh lightly, then drew back. He looked...I couldn't place my finger on it; like he was upset? But why? We were going to go on a date as soon as possible, I had sworn.

"What's wrong?" I leaned forward to get a better look at his face, because now he was turned away from me.

"Damn," he muttered. "You're too cute."

I shifted in my seat. "Is that a bad thing?"

"Yes it is," he sighed. "I have a high schooler in my car," he said, as if realizing it for the first time.

"It's fine, I'm eighteen," I lied.

"Really? But aren't you a junior?"

"My parents had me start school late."

"Then you started college on time," he laughed, now more relaxed.

"Yeah," I joined in.

It felt great being there with him. It made my pulse quicken and it made me feel light, even though my stomach tinged whenever he looked at me and my face was in a constant state of heat. I wanted to lean over and kiss him, but I would have to lean over the stupid console to do so.

"You make me crazy, you know that? The way you look at me." He shook his head.

I averted my eyes self-consciously. "What?"

"Did you see how jealous I got back there? And all day I was psyched to see you. When you look at me like that, I want to throw myself at you."

My heart fluttered. "I'm sorry again."

"That's...ok."

That pause was my fault. I licked my lips—they were dry, I swear!—and he stared at me. I wasn't trying to seduce him or anything, that's just what happened. His arm slipped around my side, and he kissed me more forcefully and urgently than before. He moved from my mouth and down my neck and to my collarbone. He managed to climb over to the passenger's seat where he hovered above me, his knees planted into the cushion right outside my legs. I yanked on the lever on the floor until the seat reclined back as far as it could go. Things were moving fast, but I was getting caught up in it, and my hormones were screaming at me.

Axel's tongue explored my mouth while his hands felt up under my shirt. He pushed the fabric away and ran his tongue down my torso while I moaned.

"Axel..."

"Hm?"

Now his hands were gripping my hips as he continued further. My shirt was bunched up under my chin—he hadn't bothered to actually take it off. This is way better than with Hayner, I couldn't help thinking. Axel has more experience...

I bit back whatever had risen in my throat when his fingers wrapped around the waistband of my jeans, barely brushing my skin. Maybe he noticed because he straightened and waited for me to open my eyes. When I did, I saw him smiling down at me. Then he kissed me softly, and clambered back to his seat.

"Damn," he breathed.

I put the seat back, and he shot me an amazed look, muttering to himself.

I straightened my clothes, and he said, "That was better than I thought it'd be."

"Thanks?"

"Too bad you have to spend the evening with that whore. I'm a better entertainer."

"Definitely," I grinned, checking the time. Five-fifty. Shit. "I'm going to be late."

"Oh." Axel promptly rushed to my house—I guided him as he sped and gave me secret little smiles like we knew something no one else did.

"Shit, almost forgot." Axel reached into his pocket. "I was gonna give you this."

It was a black and white bracelet made out of elaborate, intertwining strings. I slipped it on, and Axel smiled, and I decided I'd never take it off again.

I was forced to say goodbye quickly, and got to my room in record time. I changed clothes, noticing for the first time that my "nice clothes" aren't big enough anymore.

I squeezed them on anyway, and threw a tie and some deodorant into the mix. I ran around the house like a madman until I found my mom, who was sorting laundry.

"Someone looks sophisticated," she commented upon seeing me.

"Is my car fixed?"

"Yeah, it just needed a new battery."

"Can I borrow some money?"

She gave me a look. "Where are you off to? Going to see Axel?"

"No, mom, I'm taking Kairi to the homecoming dance."

"Whoa." She set the shirt she was holding down, narrowing her eyes at me. "After everything you told me, you're taking a girl out? And _Kairi _of all people?"

"Mom," I glanced at the clock nervously. "It just happened. I'm going to be late. Please?"

She sighed. "Don't get her hopes up, I can't afford a new car."

Once I had a wad of cash in my pocket, I rushed to Kairi's house, dreading what was to come.


	7. Hold Ups and Imvestigations

Kairi's house was enormous which, of course, was to be expected. It had a light brown trim and had a cottage feel to it, despite the various stories, that reminded me of some bogus fairytale. She ran out to my car and got in before I could do anything.

She was wearing a tight, pink dress that was sleeveless, and fell to the top of her knees. Her hair was curled, and her makeup was dark, and a bunch of other things I don't care about.

"Where have you been?" she screeched. "I thought you weren't going to show."

"I'm sorry," I apologized. "I got held up."

"Whatever." She buckled in angrily. "Just go."

She decided to skip dinner, which made me a rich, if not starving, man. The second we were in sight of the gym, I was more than prepared to turn right back around. Balloons, flashing lights, plenty of teenagers way too dressed up.

People who, I might add, wouldn't even glance at me if I hadn't had Kairi hanging off my arm. Apparently she's BFFs with everyone and is very into mingling and being "sociable", which she politely pointed out to me that I am not very good at, and that I need to stop sulking and talk to Stacy—Kevin—Amanda—whoever else and to act all shocked when she dishes out gossip and to act like I am "so in love I would kill anyone" if she just asked.

Dramatic much.

"Roxas, I need to go talk to Tiff, go get me some punch," she told me, looping arms with some girl as she disappeared outside.

I headed towards the refreshment table, thinking about how stifling hot it was in here. I got her a cup of this watery red liquid and then stood around munching pretzels and ignoring everything. I waited.

Waited.

Waited some more...

Where is she?

I set her drink down, pushing past some freshman who was trying to talk to me, and headed outside—if I'm lucky, she'll be ready to leave. The cool air pressed against my skin, making me breathe a sigh of relief. I was dying in there.

"Hey Roxas."

I turned to see Riku, who was leaning against the building and playing with a lighter. He would open it, light it, close it, repeat. I went over there, watching as the thin flame cut through the darkening night. "Do you smoke?" I asked.

"Nope."

Close. Open.

"So who'd you come with?"

"No one."

"...are you ok?"

He looked up for the first time, forcing a smile. "Never better."

He played with the fire, letting it lick his fingers. He left it there, his face blank, for a longer and longer amount of time. I started to sweat, and ended up grabbing the lighter from him and closing it. "What are you doing?"

He blinked, then suddenly yelped, blowing on his fingers. "Thanks, man, God..."  
>I gave it back to him, and he tucked it into his pocket. "Can I ask you something? I mean, this is kinda weird, but I don't know who else I could talk to."<p>

"Go ahead."

It took him a little while and, as he shuffled around nervously, chewing on his lip, I looked up at the stars and daydreamed. I could hear someone talking in the distance. Hopefully Kairi.

"Well," he finally said, "what would you do if you really liked someone, but that person just wants to be friends?"

Riku having girl problems? There was someone out there who wasn't completely gaga for him? The world must be coming to an end.

"I guess I would accept that, and hope they'd change their mind."

There was a blur, and I flinched; Riku punched the wall frighteningly close to where my face had been a second before, breathing hard and glaring at me.

"_That doesn't work_," he growled.

"I-I'm sorry!"

And his anger vanished. "It's ok." His eyes met mine, and my spine prickled with nerves. His fist was still on the wall and his body was completely blocking me, almost touching me. I began to scoot away, my shoes shuffling through the dry grass, when he grabbed my shoulders.

"Hey," he said softly. "You should ditch that guy."

His arms looped around me and I struggled to get away. "R-Riku, what are you doing?"

He was lowering his face to mine, but he stopped and abruptly stepped away from me. "I'm so sorry, Roxas," he said, obviously ashamed. "I get so...I just thought if..."

"It's ok." I was more than ready to bolt—I didn't care if I use to have a crush on him, he was creeping me out—but then he hunched against the wall, looking like he was holding back tears.

"Sora's a good guy," he said suddenly. "He tries to act like a punk at school, but he's actually pretty innocent."

Abrupt subject changer, I thought. "Yeah."

"I mean, he still believes in Santa and things like that...speak of the devil."

Sora appeared, grinning and strutting around like always, and he immediately exclaimed, "Roxas, you got dragged here by Kairi, huh?"

I nodded.

"Too bad. Hey, I have something to show you."

"What is it?"

"Just follow me."

I did so; when I looked back, Riku had the lighter out again, playing with it and staring at his feet.

We had barely reached the parking lot when someone screamed. It was shrill and it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. We both froze. Sora glanced at me, then took off running. We raced blindly through the rows of cars until Sora halted abruptly and I crashed into his back.

It was Kairi. Both her and Sora were staring at the ground, horrified. Sora made a strangled noise, leaning over and throwing up.

I took a step forward, confused, and strained my eyes to see through the dark.

My reaction wasn't much better to be honest. I stood shock-still, hot bile rising in my throat while my muscles clenched so hard they prickled and ached.

I had almost _stepped_ on him. And, however much I wanted to, I couldn't tear my eyes away nor could I back up.

Mr. P was sprawled on the pavement, his eyes open and blank, his arms throw out at awkward angles. A knife was buried in his chest, and blood covered the area in such a way that it looked like someone had taken a bucket of the stuff and thrown it everywhere. A mess was pouring out of his opened stomach, his intestines obviously yanked on until it was piled there like spaghetti. The world spun as I gagged, everything in my vision red.

Sora grabbed my arm to steady me while I swayed and fought the urge to pass out. He was shaking just as bad as me.

Kairi had her hands to her mouth, tears trickling down her face. She collapsed dangerously close to the corpse, and Sora rushed over to her, leaving me to fight gravity on my own. He seemed to gather his wits first; a gruesome scene, a boy about to faint, a girl who's lost it, sobbing so hard she can't breathe, and what does he do?

Calls 9-1-1.

What did you think he was going to do?

"It's ok," he murmured, rubbing Kairi's back after he explained everything, his phone still pressed to his ear. "The police are coming."

How can he act so calm?

I was still standing there, trying to breathe, when Riku and our principal, Mr. Xemnas, showed up. After they reacted much the same, Riku told us that he had heard the screaming, and had ran to get help.

Upon seeing Riku, Sora wasn't so calm.

He ran into Riku's arms, buried his head and began to cry. Riku held onto him tightly, rubbing his back as he murmured something I couldn't quite hear.

The rest of the night mashed together in my head. The police came; I was questioned; I was sent home.

By the time my nightmares blurred into blinding sunlight, I was late. Shit, I thought upon seeing my clock, which obnoxiously pointed out that first hour had already begun and I was still curled up in bed.

I had spent the weekend at home, trying to occupy my thoughts with mindless things like TV, but it was already Monday.

My phone buzzed, and I read a text from Olette: **You should stay home.**

Her answer, once I asked why, was that somehow everyone had gotten the idea that Riku, Sora, and I had banded together to get rid of Mr. P.

We might have gotten into trouble with him, but seriously! Whoever did that was sick in the head!

I was still laying there-trying to steer my thoughts away from any unpleasant subjects-when my phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Oh, babe, are you ok?"

"Um, who is this?"

"Don't be silly, it's me!" The voice, which was distinctly girly and familiar, rose in pitch, upset but obviously trying to sound calm. "Where are you?"

"At home," I said, confused. "Wait...Kairi?"

"Who else!" she screeched. "It's _horrible_ here."

"I bet."

"Listen to me," she hissed, probably picking up on my disinterest, "you had better get your ass over here-" She cut off, then began to giggle. "Oh, Rox, you're killing me!"

I winced. "What?"

"No, I love you more," she cooed. "Get better soon, k?" She paused. "God, she's such a whore."

"Kairi?" I asked, now completely lost.

I was contemplating my future health if I hung up when she sighed. "Beth was snooping. Please, Roxas? Everyone's been staring at me all day."

"They'll eat me alive. What are they," I added, "doing with h-his classes?"

I could practically hear her freeze. "There's a sub. The police are walking through the hallways, pulling people from classes...everyone's on edge, whispering and jumping at any little thing...I don't like it."

I swallowed; Kairi suddenly seemed like a small child. Not bossy, or flirty, not herself at all. Just scared.

"Who do you think did it?"

"Jesus, Roxas, I don't know! Some whack job!"

"Yeah...sorry..."

"I have to go, but you're coming to school tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah."

"Ok, bye."

"See ya."

I spent most of the morning zoning out on the television. I couldn't help thinking that Riku was the one who did it. He was acting so weird! And he _was_ outside...but would he really kill Mr. P just because he got in trouble?

I shuddered, turning the volume up on the TV. Tomorrow was going to suck.


	8. News and Rantings

A/N: This chapter is horrible. I couldn't think of what to write, and I had to move, which took up most of my time. Or all of it. Uhh. 0.o

Review and tell me where you think this is going…how you think it should end…etc. Oh and do any of you like Soul Eater? I'm currently writing a fanfic for it. :)

Warning: There's a lot of cussing in this chapter.

~KeedaxEmry

School was weird. It dragged on forever, and all I really did was ignore everyone. Ignored the whispers, the stares. By the time I was alone in my car, I was ready to scream. I never got the chance to, however, because Sora was at the window, knocking.

"Hey—" I began to open the door, but he had already let himself in. He flopped down in the passengers seat with a loud sigh.

"This sucks, huh?"

I blinked. "Yeah."

"There's no way in hell I'd do that to Mr.P," he continued. "God. Someone has issues."

"Yeah," I said again, still wondering why he was here.

"So, um..." All of a sudden his confidence was gone, and he squirmed, uneasy. "I know this isn't the best time, but..."

I glanced over at him. "What?"

"I made you a CD. Here." He tossed it in my lap. "See ya."

He bolted while I looked at the gift. I set it aside, thinking that was a nice thing to do. Then I thought about calling Axel...which I quickly disregarded. If I talk to him now, I reasoned, he'll know something is wrong.

"Not with everything that's been going on!"

I walked into my house to hear my parents arguing. "We have no choice," I heard my dad say.

I began to slip away, but they managed to catch a glimpse of me. "Roxas! Come here!" my mom called.

"Coming!" I dragged my feet over to them; they were standing near the counter, envelopes scattered nearby and a pan heating on the stove. They already knew everything, had already harassed me about it enough, but I was afraid that they were going to ask more questions about Mr.P. And that was the last thing I wanted to talk about.

"We have to go to a business meeting," my dad said immediately.

"Ok."

"If we go, _if_," she shot my dad an evil glare, "we would be gone for three days."

"But if we don't go..." My dad began then shrunk back.

"How can we leave Roxas alone after this?"

They continued to go back and forth as if I wasn't there. I briefly wondered if I could sneak away. Five minutes later, they came to a conclusion without my help.

"I'm sorry," she said, kissing my forehead and tucking her purse under her arm. "We can't afford to lose our jobs right now."

"I'll be fine," I reassured.

"Make sure to lock the door," my dad supplied. "We need to hurry..."

"Yes, yes," she muttered. "Be safe."

And they were gone.

I stared at the empty house for a second until the doorbell rang. At first, a flare of annoyance ran through me (Can people leave me alone?) and then a cold sweat broke over me, remembering—

"Roxas?" I saw Axel standing outside, his hands tucked in his pockets and his face flushed from the cold.

I threw the door open. "Hey."

He brightened. "Hey. Sorry to come over unannounced."

"That's ok…do you want to come in?"

"Sure," he grinned. Once he was inside, however, his voice turned worried. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, of course," I said quickly. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I heard about it," he murmured.

"Oh."

His eyes trained on me, and I couldn't keep my face blank, no matter how hard I tried.

"Oh, Roxas…" he sighed, before sweeping me into his arms. "You scared the shit out of me, you know that? When the news came on and they showed your school…"

"I…I'm sorry," I managed, my throat seeming to swell up. This whole…_thing_ must have done it's toll on me; usually I would be freaking out by now, focused on his warmth or how good he smells.

Hmm.

He smells faintly like cinnamon, underneath something I can't put my finger on…

"Roxas?"

He pulled away and I automatically frowned.

"That's all I needed to do to cheer you up?" he laughed. "Wow, someone has a one-track mind."

"Shut up," I blushed.

He glanced around. "Where are your parents? Shouldn't we be doing that whole, awkward introducing thing?"

"They're not here," I admitted. "They're out of town, actually."

"Good. We can skip that part." He reached out and traced the bottom of my lip with his pointer finger.

"You're kind of weird," I said, looking the other way.

"Why, thank you." He pressed his lips on mine, then, to my disappointment, stepped back and crossed his arms over his chest. "I should at least buy you dinner first," he said solemnly.

I tensed. Was that some sort of code? I mean, my parents are gone. They're gone! We have the house to ourselves…does he want to—?

Oh my god he does. I can tell from the way his eyes are narrowing. He's going to—

"Helloooooo?"

Or he was wondering why I suddenly stopped talking.

"What?" I blurted.

"You. Me. On a date…ringing any bells?"

"Oh, um, sure."

"You know that skill of yours? To zone out? You should do that whenever Kairi or some other idiot tries to talk to you," he joked. "So what do you want to do?"

"W-What do you mean?"

He gave me another weird look. "Do you want to go to the movie theatre or something? To a restaurant?"

"Yeah," I said too eagerly.

"Well, come on," he said, amused.

"Actually," I stopped him, my mind filled with fears that I wasn't going to let him in on, "we can just stay here. I have Netflix and pizza, so we're pretty much set."

He chuckled at that. "Ok, that sounds great."

By nine o' clock, we were stuffed, and settled on the couch in front of some comedy, all the lights off. The nervousness I had been feeling had long since vanished as the movie unfolded towards the resolution. Axel wasn't making any move to touch me, we were just laughing along with the bad jokes and having a good time.

"That was horrible," he declared cheerfully, kicking the blanket off. My house tends to be chilly.

"No kidding," I agreed, standing up and turning the lights back on. I switched Netflix off but kept the TV on for background noise.

"Oh, how boring."

"What?"

He grabbed my hand and flipped the switch so that it was dark again. "Nothing."

"Ax—"

We fell over, laughing. "Did you trip over your own feet?"

"No! You did!" I stopped short as I slowly realized how close he was, hovering only a few inches above me. He beamed at me.

We didn't get far before something made us stop cold.

_"My son...please help..."_

_"You need to calm down, ma'am. Tell me what's wrong."_

_"There's...blood everywhere. Please!"_

Over the woman's desperate sobbing, you could barely make out a, "_The police are on their way. Please describe—"_

_"Describe! How can I? It looks like...he's been...cut into...l-little pieces!"_

"That is an actual 9-1-1 recording," the news reporter's smooth voice came on. "The name of the young teen has not yet been released. Police think that this could be connected to death of a local teacher, because of this single piece of evidence."

By then Axel had pushed off of me, and we both sat on the floor, horrified, as clips of a bracelet was showed at both crime scenes...it was almost identical to the one on my wrist, the one Axel had given me.

The news switched to a lighter topic, but we were both immobilized, staring at the screen stupidly.

"Oh my god," I finally choked out.

"Who…do you think…" Axel started. "A teen…"

"I don't know," I said shakily, getting up, and pulling my shirt back over my head.

"This is some scary shit."

"Yeah…maybe you should go."

"And leave you here by yourself? Hell no."

I didn't know what to say to that. I just wanted all of this to disappear, which wasn't going to happen, obviously, so I was at a loss. "Well…"

"I'll just stay over till your parents are back, ok?" He rubbed my arm reassuringly. "And if push comes to shove, I'll grab a baseball bat."

I laughed weakly. "Ok, Axel."

I took a hot shower and went straight to bed. Axel was sleeping in the guest room—surprising, right?—because he wanted to make it clear that he didn't have ulterior motives.

It's a good thing my parents didn't call that night, or they would've caught on and returned immediately.

Luckily I slept hard, and I woke up to Axel poking my head.

"Hey," I yelped, surprised. "Oh, it's you…"

"Oh, it's you," he taunted. "You'd better hurry up or you'll be late."

"Yeah, yeah," I grunted, hiding my embarrassment at seeing him so early in the morning. At him seeing my bed head…

XxXxX

Olette and I were attempting to have a normal conversation. She steered clear from any, um, bad subjects, for which I was grateful. At the moment we were feasting on a bag of Oreos in the library—mostly to avoid the gawking. We're pretty good at sneaking food, and we both paused as someone walked by.

"I still think that's a stupid video," Olette continued, a cookie dangling from her fingers.

"Well, it's all about the—"

"What kind of boyfriend are you?"

I suppressed a sigh. "Hi Kairi."

"You ditched me for her?" she screeched.

Olette's eyes widened. "I'm his friend, that's all."

"Riku has been looking everywhere for you!"

"Why?" I asked, glancing at Olette. She shot me an entertained look.

Kairi suddenly bowed her head. "N-Nothing. Have fun with your _friend_."

She practically ran away, while Olette and I fell silent, confused.

"What do you think that was about?" she finally asked.

"I don't know…" We stared at each other, coming to the exact same conclusion. "I'll go talk to him," I stood up abruptly.

"Yeah," she nodded quickly. "Take an Oreo for the road."

I smiled at her, grabbed one, and took off. What I found…well, I wasn't prepared, so I almost ended up turning right back around.

Riku was standing alone at his locker. That usual aura around him, the one that makes every girl swoon, was gone. His personality turned from charming and charismatic to dark and lost. His hair was messy, and he had his fist on the top part of the locker, as if he had punched it then forgotten what he was doing and just froze there. The worst part of it was when he turned towards me, and I saw his face. It was empty. His eyes weren't there; they were dull, vacant. He looked…devastated. And that scared me.

"Hey," I muttered.

"Hey," he repeated numbly.

"Um, were you looking for me?"

"Yeah."

I waited for him to continue, and when he didn't, I prompted with a, "What is it?"

"He..." Riku coughed. Ran his hands through his hair. "He..."

"Who?"

"Liked you," he smiled bitterly, finally looking at me head-on. "Had the biggest fucking crush on you."

"...Riku?" I asked nervously, scooting back slightly. "Who are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb." His icy gaze stopped me dead in my tracks.

"I...really don't know," I swallowed.

"On you!" he yelled, not really seeming to see me anymore. It was like he was looking _through_ me, at something I couldn't even begin to understand. _Has he completely lost it...? _"I was the one who was always there for him, I was the one he should have liked! But no! He would rather have some pint-sized college-leveled freak! And why? WHY?"

"I…don't…know…" I shuffled back further but he leapt forward towards me.

"Because of one stupid kiss! That—get this?—I dared him to! I dared him to kiss you! HA! Isn't that funny? HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

"Riku," I croaked as a girl decided that she actually didn't need to go down this particular hallway after all, "calm down."

But he threw his head back and howled. "HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! And you know what else?"

"W-What?"

"He _knew_ how I felt! But he obviously didn't give a damn! Because you're all he would fucking talk about! Well, guess what? GUESS WHAT, ROXAS?" I didn't even say anything, just stayed glued to the floor as he ranted. _Maybe I should get a teacher…but what if he tries to attack me the second I start to leave? Oh, God, he's insane. And angry at me. Shit. _

"He's dead because of you. Because of you," he spat. "And you're next."

"Stop kidding around," I forced a chuckle on the faint, diminishing hope that this might be a sick joke.

"I can't wait," he sneered. "I'm counting down, Roxas. Every—fucking—second—_I am counting_!"

I raised on my arm on instinct. What, was I going to hit him? I wasn't entirely sure; I just knew that I wanted there to be miles between the two of us. Miles of brick and chain.

Someone heard him. Then he was gone. And a teacher's concerned face was in mine.

"Roxas? Are you alright?"

I gathered my wits, my mind completely blank for a few moments. "Y-Yeah."

She lowered her voice. "The police put him in custody. He can't get to you…but I think it would be best if you went home."

I nodded dumbly. Just as I was about to drift away, something stopped me. "Um, ma'am?"

"Yes?" she smiled warmly at me. "What is it?"

"Do you…do you know what he was talking about?"

Her face darkened. "You heard about it, right? The young teen that was mutilated in his own home?"

"Yeah." I hesitated. "Who…?"

She stepped closer to me. "I don't want to upset you," she murmured. "Are you sure you want to know?"

"I'll figure it out sooner or later," I reasoned weakly.

"Well," she glanced around, "that's true."

I nodded.

"Sora is dead," she said carefully.

A police officer appeared, putting his hand on my shoulder with a, "Let's go."

I shot him a questioning look.

"And," the teacher added quickly, "they found a note."

A note. Story of my life.

"He doesn't know?" the police officer sounded surprised.

"No, he doesn't."

He crouched down until he was at my eyelevel, making me feel like a little kid. "There was a note next to the body that names you as the next victim."

Do you want to know what it said?

_Roxas, isn't this fun?_


	9. Fear and Solitude

I felt very alone. And it seemed like I was going to become overly familiar with the lines of fabric in my comforter, seeing as I was currently burying my face in it. For some reason, my mind was blank. I wasn't thinking about that note, or of Riku or, heaven forbid, Sora, although I couldn't ignore the horrible feeling in my stomach. As if I had been pushed off a skyscraper, and my body met concrete, and I became a bloody mess, and people were just walking by as if I wasn't there.

I shuddered, pressing a pillow to my face. Am I really safe here by myself? Is Riku…? No, it can't be him, he couldn't…do that to Sora. Tears pricked my eyes, burning. I can't…

I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping to float back into nothingness, hoping that these thoughts would go away. Unfortunately, they persisted.

Who would do this? If it's not Riku…Kairi? She was outside when Mr.P…but why kill Sora? Jealousy? And wasn't it odd that those bracelets that were found near the bodies were just like the one Axel gave me? Why would someone…

This is too confusing. I sat up, about to watch TV, when something caught my eye. There was a bright red notebook sitting on my desk, looking out of place. I grabbed it, opening to the first page. "…prefix indicating the number of atoms…" I read the sloppy handwriting—Axel's handwriting. I skimmed through the rest of the notes, wondering how he managed to forget it here. I stopped flipping.

I wasn't entirely sure of Axel's schedule, but I managed to convince myself that he needed this for class _today._ That's a good excuse to go see him, yes? I don't think I'd be able to take much more of sitting here alone.

Once I had shoes on, I was out the door. A short drive later and I was at the college. A lady in the office directed me to the dorms, saying that he should be in-between classes.

The only person I found was Demyx.

"Hey," he opened the door. He was wearing sweats, his hair disheveled from sleep, even though it was well into the afternoon.

"Hey Demyx," I said, uncomfortable, yet relieved, at seeing him. "Where's Axel?"

"Um," he yawned, "at the café or something. I think."

"Oh, where—"

"Is that for him?" he interrupted, eyeing the notebook.

"Uh yeah. Can—"

"Of course, anything for his _special_ friend." He grabbed it from me with a mocking grin I didn't like at all. "So have you…you know."

"I don't know what you mean," I said quickly, blushing.

"I think you do," he laughed. "Don't let him pressure you."

"A-Alright."

"See you around then."

A thousand things raced in my mind as he began to shut the door.

That didn't go how I wanted it to. Not at all. I was really hoping to meet up with Axel, and I really, really don't want to go back home.

"Demyx?" I called quickly.

He stopped. "Yeah?"

"Do you think I could wait for him here?"

He narrowed his eyes, and then his face cleared and he grinned. "Of course. Gonna give me a show?"

"Umm…" I followed him inside. The place was messy and dark, which I was expecting, and the furniture looked like it had been shoved in and forgotten.

I perched on a small couch awkwardly. The TV flashed in front of me, showing some gory show and hurting my eyes.

"It could be a while," he warned. "And I'm going to go take a shower…just make yourself nice and comfy."

He vanished into the bathroom, and soon I heard water running.

I scooted until my back was actually pressed against the couch. I had been sitting there gingerly—like it was going to bite—because it hadn't seemed…well, all that clean, but it appeared like I was going to be here for a while. Demyx had been in there for a good half hour at least, I thought, looking at the thin ribbon of light under the bathroom door. I tried unsuccessfully to watch what looked like the sci-fi channel as my head began to pound. Why would he keep all the lights off? _And_ have the blinds closed?

I was still thinking about that when my phone went off, making me jump. I answered it after seeing the caller ID, cursing myself for not expecting this.

"Hi mom," I said meekly.

"Hi," she said flatly. "Why haven't you called me? Do you know that I just got a phone call from—"

"Honey," I heard my dad say in the background, "I'm sure—"

"—the police?"

"Oh," I said, just to say something.

"Where are you?"

"I'm…at the college."

"In class? I thought you were told to stay home."

"I didn't want to be there."

"Your father and I are on our way back now."

"Oh. When will you get here?"

"Tomorrow. We'll try to hurry."

"Ok."

"Just go home, and wait for us, ok? Lock the door."

"Ok mom."

"See you soon. I love you."

"Love you too."

"Bye."

Demyx had great timing; just as I hung up, he strolled back in and slouched down on the couch next to me, his hair still wet and sticking to his forehead.

"What are you watching?"

"I don't know," I shrugged.

He grabbed the remote and began flipping through the channels. We were only there for a little while before Axel decided to show up, barging right in and dumping his stuff on the floor.

"Look who's here!" Demyx exclaimed.

Axel turned to us, obviously surprised to see me. "Roxas, what are you doing here?"

"You left your notebook at my house."

"Oh."

"And, um…" I said, thinking back to that morning. And Riku.

I think he understood, because he grabbed my hand (which made Demyx whistle suggestively) and dragged me out of the dorm.

On the way back home, I explained. He…was angry to say the least.

"Why did you leave?" he growled once we were in my living room, slamming the door shut and locking it. "Riku is a fucking lunatic."

"I'm sorry! I…I didn't want to stay here alone," I confessed.

His face lightened. "Hey, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped like that." He cradled me to his chest, and I automatically relaxed.

"It's ok," I said into his shirt.

He kissed the top of my head. "Do you want some dinner?"

I agreed.

We searched for something simple, and eventually ended up sticking some leftovers in the microwave. We ate, talked about mindless things, and then sat in my room, listening to music.

"You should get some sleep," Axel said, sitting criss-crossed in front of me, both of us on my bed.

Something compelled me to say, "I don't want to." Then I shot him a smile, which made him squirm.

"Roxas…"

"What?" I asked as innocently as I could manage.

"I'll, um, go sleep in the guest room."

He started to get up, but I latched onto his wrist before he could get anywhere. I had this feeling…it wasn't a bad feeling, exactly, although it wasn't pleasant either; it was more like a feeling of need, probably springing up out of my fear.

It took control, and I found myself kissing him.

I don't think he was expecting it, because he tensed and began to pull away. I pressed against him, and he stopped.

We both lost ourselves in it.

My arms around his neck.

His lips tracing a path down my torso.

The best part of it was that I could completely focus on it. On him.

That was true up until we both heard a voice.

"Oh god."

A/N: I know this is short...and belated...

I've been working on other things as well, and I'm finding it hard to keep writing this.

If you're a fan of Soul Eater, please check a fanfic called "Unlikely" out.

It's a collab with my friend and I, and quite frankly it deserves more love. (I tried to make it yaoi, but some people just don't like that stuff…ha ha)

I'm thinking about deleting this story, to be honest.

My apologies for the neglect. :(

~KeedaxEmry


	10. Messages and Clamor

"This…isn't what it looks like," I said weakly, fully knowing it was exactly what it looked like. There were a few tense, awkward seconds where we all remained frozen. I watched Axel—who was still on top of me—access the situation, his head turned towards the interruption with an innocent, curious look. His eyes met mine, and I swear he almost leaned down to kiss me, but instead he carefully maneuvered himself until he was sitting next to me. The excitement had vanished anyway, replaced with a feeling of mortification and dread.

Thankfully Axel had tossed a blanket over me (so quickly I didn't notice) and I clutched it to my body. This must look really bad. Axel crossing his arms over his bare chest with a clear message: so what? While I blushed and wished that I was at least half-clothed like Axel.

"Hello, person I am not acquainted with," Axel said, sounding both amused and furious.

"What are you doing?" Hayner growled.

"What do you think we're doing?" Axel shot back.

Oh shit.

"Hayner, this is—"

"I thought this was above you," Hayner spat.

"What?"

"How much did he cost?"

"I'm his boyfriend, dumbass," Axel snarled.

They stared each other down, as if waiting for the signal to rip the enemy's throat out.

This seemed to last for hours; their faces twisted and dark as I desperately tried to think of what to do next.

Hayner said a single word.

I don't know who it was directed at, but I had my suspicions.

It stung.

After he exited the way he'd came—the window—Axel visibly relaxed.

"I should trust you, right?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said, uncertain of what he was thinking about.

"Then I shouldn't just assume I'm the other man?"

"Wha—no. No!"

"So…" he paused, grinning. "You weren't cheating on him with me or visa versa?"

"No, he's just a friend."

"Who happened to sneak through your window in the middle of the night?"

I began to explain and I was surprised at how Axel took it all in stride.

At the end, we both fell silent. I was sort of wondering about where my clothes were by the time he spoke again. "Well he can't have you."

I nodded.

"And neither can Kairi."

"Or anyone else." He paused. "You're mine."

Before I had time to react to that possessive and slightly aggressive sounding statement, he was back on top of me.

"Ax—mmm."

He covered my mouth with his, sliding his hand underneath the blanket and onto my chest. He nibbled on my neck and I grimaced. "S-Stop, Axel."

He ignored me, tracing my collarbone with his tongue as I shivered.

I'm not sure how long this lasted. He kept toying with me and right before he was going to actually do something, we heard a weird thumping noise.

"What the hell?" Axel sat up slightly, looking annoyed.

"What was that?" I asked, my heart racing. The door was locked, right? It must be a dog or something.

"I don't k—"

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

"It sounds…"

"Like something banging against the wall," he finished incredulously. He looked down on me, and then added quickly, "Let's ignore it."

He tried to bury himself in-between my legs but I pushed him away, shrieking, "It's still there!"

"It's nothing."

"Axel!" My voice cracked out of fear and he finally moved away from me.

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

"Damn it," he muttered. "I'll go check it out."

He got up, and I scrambled after him, pulling my clothes back on (which put a disappointed look on Axel's face).

The noise seemed to be gone; we crept into each room, but nothing was out of place.

"See? We're fine," Axel sighed, sitting on the couch in the living room.

"I guess," I said uncertainly, climbing onto his lap, trying to clear my thoughts.

He smiled happily. "You're safe, Roxas."

"Thanks for staying over here," I said softly as he wrapped his arms around me protectively.

"Don't mention it."

The adrenaline that had been pumping through my veins was slowly fading, replaced with a content grogginess. My neighbor's dog likes to get into trouble, I thought, breathing in Axel's scent like a drug. That's what that noise was. Wow, I can't believe what Axel and I just did; I almost giggled at that, my eyes closing. The rise and fall of his chest was lulling, and I began to drift off.

XxXxX

"Roxas? Roxas!"

Axel was shaking me awake.

"Huh?"

"I wanted to let you sleep but…" He paused, and I heard it. Someone was yelling. The voice was desperate.

We run outside, and everything seemed blurred and faded to my tired eyes. For some reason, there was a red baseball laying a few feet from the door, looking desolate and forgotten. A few more paces and the scene was in front of us. I clutched onto Axel, feeling my breath escape me as he swore. It was homecoming all over again. The body. The way it became a spectacle, everything smeared and strewn about as if it was a show just for us. Whoever it was—the carcass—was unidentifiable, but there were bits of pink cloth buried in blood and the…._pieces_. Which meant that it was a girl. My eyes trailed up to see Hayner. He was standing in the middle of it. His shoes were covered in gore. There was a blank look on his face, and the second he looked up, my heart froze. I couldn't help thinking that he was insane…completely insane …..we need to get out of here….

"Roxas," he stumbled forward with a sickening squelching noise.

"S-Stay back!" I screamed, shaking.

"Please….listen….."

He continued to advance, desperately calling to me, and I felt Axel's grip on me tighten. "Get inside. Call the cops," he managed, whispering to me hoarsely.

"I can't leave you here!" I protested as he tried to push me backwards.

"Roxas, go!" he demanded.

He pushed me harder, and I slipped on the grass and fell. Before either of us could do anything, Hayner was sobbing. "I didn't do it! Please believe me!"

We didn't even respond; Axel was helping me to my feet. Just as I stood up, something flew past my head, making me scream. We both ducked instinctively, and when my eyes scanned the area, I saw that red baseball nearby. Someone…threw it?

"Who's there?" Axel demanded, fear showing through his voice clearly.

Nothing.

Before he was tugging me away, frantic, I caught another glimpse of Hayner; he was scrambling, trying to get to us, his face blotchy and red from crying. "I couldn't help her! I saw…" he broke off with a loud sob. "I…didn't…..Kairi….."

Axel was slamming the door closed and locking it.

Axel was holding a phone. I permanently attached myself to his side

I was completely out of it, and I could hear Axel's shaky voice but couldn't bring myself to focus. The next thing I knew, I was being dragged into my parents' room. It's at the very back of the house so it was the furthest from the door. Axel shut and locked the door so that it was pitch blank. He grabbed my hand, murmuring, "It's ok, the police are coming" before guiding me to the bed. At first I thought he wanted to continue our earlier activities, but he just wrapped me up tightly in a blanket and laid down next to me so that we were pressed together. I found his hand and tried to get horrifying images out of my head. We remained silent, even though we could still hear noises from outside.

At first, it was a dull, unrecognizable clamor.

Then there was shouting.

Screaming.

It was Hayner.

We left him outside.

He wasn't—

"_No_," Axel said firmly, hanging onto me and not letting me stand.

"But Hayner's in trouble!" I struggled.

"I won't let you get killed."

"Axel," I squirmed. "Let go!"

His arms tensed around my stomach and I fell over, half on the bed, half off.

"You're not thinking straight!"

"Let me—"

We both froze as the screaming rose in a crescendo and then abruptly vanished.

"Oh my god…" I muttered, shifting until I was back onto the bed. Tears prickled my eyes and I couldn't stop a wail from rising within me.

_Thump thump thump._

I curled up into a ball and Axel was holding onto me.

The next thing we heard was the shattering of glass and I found myself screaming.


	11. Injuries and Confusion

What's going on?

I tried to move, but immediately hit my head. I groaned, lying back on my stomach until the pain receded. I could hear some banging, although it was muted and unclear. Things floated around in my head, whatever could get past the throbbing. Where am I again? What's missing? I feel like something is missing...what am I forgetting?

The ache flared up and then, for the most part, vanished. I took a few deep breaths and began to investigate. It was dark. Ok. I was…underneath something? My fingers reached up a few inches and brushed against a wooden frame. Then it clicked. This is my parents' bed. Why would I be here? How did—

Oh my god.

Axel.

Hayner.

_Someone got in the house._

I began to scramble on my hands and knees, digging my fingers into the carpet and dragging myself forward through dust bunnies and lint. Then I heard a voice say my name and I froze.

"Roxas?"

The comforter fluttered out of the way and someone was staring at me.

"Hey, let me help you up."

My first instinct was to scoot away, but the voice was sweet and familiar. I presented my hand and then I was standing next to her.

"What are you doing here?"

She smiled, which seemed slightly odd, and said, "I was worried."

"Where's Axel?" I glanced around the room, but nothing was out of place.

"I don't know."

"Olette…how did you get in?"

"Someone broke the window."

"You climbed in—"

There was a large crash, and I was cut off. I was about to bolt towards the noise, thoughts of Axel stuck in my mind, when Olette grabbed my wrist.

"What? Olette?"

"You're my best friend."

"Yes," I said, uncertain. "We have to—"

"Axel will be fine."

As if in defiance, the noise from outside my parents' room rose and I tried to pull free from Olette's grip.

"Let go!"

Her fingers wrapped around tighter. "I just want to talk to you."

"We can talk later!"

"We can talk now, Roxas." She gave me a cold smile, looking completely uncharacteristic.

I shivered. "We really can't."

"But can't we?"

"N-No."

She stepped closer to me until her face was in mine, and for a second, I could see the Olette I remembered. "I'm so sorry," she whispered hoarsely.

"What?" I managed, more than ready to run.

Her eyes met mine, and she stared me down, unwavering. She was trembling slightly, silent tears running down her cheeks. "I didn't think...this wasn't the plan..."

"What are you taking about?"

"You don't know…how h-h-hard…" Her voice cracked, and she began to sob.

I stood there, hopeless, before the door swung open. To my relief, it was Axel.

He ran to me and I took in the mess he had become. Blood was running down the side of his face, making his hair stick to it, becoming a darker red. He had a slight limp, wincing each time his left foot met the floor.

I shrieked, rushing to his side. "Axel?"

"Hey." He grabbed my shoulder to steady himself, his eyes traveling up until he saw Olette. "Who the hell are you?" he growled, immediately shifting himself so that he was in a defense position in front of me.

"It's ok. She's my friend, Olette."

He gave her a suspicious look before turning to me. "We need to get out of here. Now."

"What happen—"

Axel, in the process of trying to drag me out of the room, wobbled and fell over. I held him up as he passed a hand over his eyes. "Are you ok?" I asked, concerned.

"I'm…fine," he gritted his teeth.

There was so much blood, I could smell it coming off of him. My mind couldn't process anything after I thought that he may have lost too much already.

"Let me get a towel to press—"

"Roxas, we just need to leave. I am ok," he said steadily. "Alright?"

"Alright," I said shakily.

"Where's your friend?"

I turned around. There was no one there.

"Olette?" I called, confused.

_Thump thump thump._

I couldn't help the scream that escaped me; Axel put his hand over my mouth to silence it. "Shhh," he hushed.

He was staring past me. I paused confused, and then I saw that the door was closing.

Axel sprung forward, trying to get to it, but his ankle gave out and he tumbled to the ground, hitting his head and creating a small cry of pain.

I knelt over him in the next second, just as the door clicked closed.


End file.
